2006-04-15 - Some thoughts on a quiet day

After yesterday's "exertions", You didn't come out of Your room in the morning. We spent the morning upstairs. The protocol is to just sit quietly. Some would nap, I would write diary entries and so on. Some quiet conversation also, but only very limited conversation, as we needed to be very quiet. I would generally be at the back, there would be some of the newer students right next to Your door. Devotees had come into the compound for darshan and had to leave around 10:15 when Satya went down and gave some updates. At 2:30 pm, You went down, and called us for a ten minute session. You asked many of us our names. You said that on Monday we could go for shopping and then sent us for tea and tiffin. Bhajan was at 4 o'clock.

One of the bhajan sessions during Kodai 2006

You came in the Porte chair, but got up and went out to give darshan for some five minutes. 50 minutes of bhajan, then Arati. Then there was a session inside, when ladies were included too. This session was mostly songs. At 6 pm itself You asked us to go for dinner. Extended by ten minutes since it was only 6 o'clock, but then, "Go, go". And that was it for today.

Since the events recorded in my diary are few for today, I'll take this opportunity to do some reflections. Some folks choose to totally ignore what You say in casual talk as 'irrelevant' and there are some folks who say with certainty that 'what Swami meant was ... because ...' I would like to take the approach that whatever You say and do does have a message, and that the message is different to each one who sees or hears it, as per their perspective. 'Yad bhaavam, tad bhavati' as You say. So the following is just my perspective, my learning.

Why all the negative comments about the food? My understanding was that You were putting down the food when You were with the boys, just to lighten their disappointment at not having meals with You. It would happen with many of us that if we did not 'do well', or be publicly acclaimed - maybe with a speech, maybe with a song, or whatever - You would generally say it was very good. Probably for encouragement. And when we would do well and everyone else would think it was very good, You would say, 'Not good! Practice more!' or something like that. Maybe this is Your way of balancing out praise and blame? Another possibility, another interpretation could be that actually someone in the group felt that way about the food, and You were revealing that You knew about that feedback that person felt. Maybe. Then there are cases where You want to show Your grace on someone by mentioning them, but their praapthi (deservedness) is such that You couldn't praise them, so some comment like this! Saraswatamma's Rs. 10 episode during the Badri trip is one example of Your praapthi counting!

Then, what about the lessons He drops into casual conversation? Right now, I don't have access to the recordings I had made. Maybe later I may be able to add transcripts of those conversations, and then I could try my hand at this 'gleaning lessons' business! One point I remember was, You asking the 'Meera boys' for their names, again, again and again, on many occasions. Poor ANA seemed a bit annoyed, or thought You were teasing, and said his name, "ANA, Swami!" in the tone, 'Don't You remember? I told You just yesterday...' Of course, he would have later learnt that it was just an opportunity for You to interact, etc etc. as this alumnus recalls. 

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